Final answer:
The Whiskey Rebels saw Congress' failure to act as evidence that the federal government prioritized economic interests of the East over the Western farmers. Congress' approval of the whiskey tax and their response to the rebellion affirmed the rebels' fears of government overreach and neglect of certain citizens' needs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Whiskey Rebels interpreted Congress' failure to act on their petitions against the whiskey tax as a confirmation that the federal government was favoring the commercial classes over farmers and working people. They saw the tax, approved by a Federalist-dominated Congress, as part of a larger scheme to undermine republican liberty and possibly to transform the United States into a monarchy. The rebels viewed the lack of action as evidence of the national government's disconnect from the citizens farthest from the centers of commerce, especially farmers in the West who relied on distilled spirits like whiskey as a cost-effective means to transport their grain and, in some areas, as a form of currency.
The federal government's response to the rebellion, particularly the formation of a militia to suppress it, was taken by the rebels as a sign that the government would go to great lengths to enforce its authority, further solidifying their fears of an overreaching central power. This reaction from Congress and President Washington only intensified the whiskey rebels' determination to resist what they perceived as unfair policies.